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Warning: possible triggers for E.D.

Yogurt super-power Yoplait has agreed to pull it’s latest commercial from the airwaves after receiving complaints from NEDA, the National Easting Disorders Association. NEDA believes that the ad could possibly trigger behaviors that could lead to eating disorders or inadvertently trigger those recovering from eating disorders.

My thoughts

Girl wants her cheesecake. She wants it bad.

Right off the bat, you can tell that the actress in the ad probably doesn’t need to worry about that piece of cheesecake. She’s already slim, and her over-analytic monologue seemingly borders on obsession. It’s stressful to even HEAR her voice going back & forth trying to justify how to compensate… for what should be (and appears to be) a treat she can afford herself.

What about a smaller slice? Okay, sure! Or maybe a medium slice with celery sticks (not sure how that makes sense). Or jog in place while eating a big slice followed by celery sticks (cause THAT will cancel it out, lol).

The only way to end her relentless back & forth? A co-worker, who points out a lower calorie Yoplait option. Ahhhh, the debate is put to rest.

Puh-lease. Watch the ad below.

I’ve watched the ad over and over. I’ve got to say that it’s pretty dead on with it’s interpretation of the insane self-talk that some women have when faced with temptation. ‘I want the cheesecake, but not the calories. How can I have my cake & eat it too, without the feeling guilty? How much exercise will cancel out this cheesecake? etc…”

NEDA worries that the ad will normalize this obsession with food, calorie compensation and neurotic attempts to stay thin to those who are really suffering from food related disorders. They may have a point; I mean, I think the ad is extreme & crazy… but I certainly relate to it because there was a time I did the same thing. I’ve thought those thoughts, I’ve had that struggle and I see other women doing it on a daily basis. I can see my 16 year old self saying ‘Oh, thank god! I do that too!’.

The truth is, the self-talk in the commercial IS NOT NORMAL, or shouldn’t be… unless you’ve got an unhealthy relationship with food. In fact, NEDA first heard of the commercial from a numerous people who were recovering from eating disorders and were triggered by the ad.

Excerpt from Huffington Post

“I was shocked by how they really nailed it on the head—that’s exactly what I thought every time I opened a refrigerator door,” said Jenni Schaefer, who remembers experiencing negatives feelings towards food as young as 4 years old. Restrictive as a child, Scheafer battled anorexia in high school and bulimia in college; she began treatment for her disease when she was 22 years old. Now 35, she considers herself fully recovered and has written two books on recovering from EDs.

“When you live with an eating disorder, you divide all foods into good and bad categories, like the yogurt versus the cheesecake [in the commercial],” Schaefer said. “Pretty soon everything moves into the bad category.”

Grefe says that NEDA “applauds” Yoplait and parent company General Mills for agreeing to pull the commercial days after voicing their concern.

“We had no idea,” Tom Forsythe, VP of Corporate Communications for General Mills, said to the Huffington Post. “The thought had never occurred to anyone, and no one raised the point. We aren’t sure that everyone saw the ad that way, but if anyone did, that was not our intent and is cause for concern. We thought it best to take it down.”

What do you think? Promoting eating disorders or representing the temptation struggle that millions of women have? Sound off!